river of The Netherlands, an important distributary of the Rhine River. It leaves the Lower Rhine (Neder Rijn) just southeast of Arnhem and flows northeastward for 70 miles (113 km) to enter the IJsselmeer (a lake formed from the old Zuiderzee) between the Northeast (Noordoost) and East Flevoland polders. The river is navigable and slow-moving and deposits much silt. Zutphen, Deventer, and Zwolle are important municipalities along its course.